Key Stats From Liverpool 5-0 Porto

Key Stats From Liverpool 5-0 Porto

Liverpool battered Porto 5-0 in a sensational game in Portugal, with Sadio Mané taking home the match-ball, but what were the key stats from the game?

Goals, Goals, and somehow even more goals.

Another week, another record broken by Mo Salah, who became only the 13th player to score 30 goals in a season for Liverpool, and the first since Luis Suarez back in 2014. Salah now has 30 from just 34 starts, and less than 3000 minutes. Whether or not he’ll manage to make 30 league goals and break Suarez’s record of 31 in 33 games remains to be seen, but given that his goalscoring rate has actually improved for Liverpool, scoring 11 goals and four assists in his last 12 games, compared to six and one in his opening 12.

He’s not the only one flying either, as this stat above indicates. The boys are red hot, with Salah’s 30 goals backed up by 21 from Bobby and 12 from Sadio, with all three now notching at least 20 goal contributions. 63 goals from our top three players is absolutely insane.

Some other fun goalscoring stats. This was Liverpool’s first European hat-trick since their last game in Europe. We’ve now scored 25 goals in our last five games in Europe. This was our second 5-0 win of the season, we’ve only won one game 1-0.

Who said we’d score less without Coutinho?

Away Day Glory

This doesn’t happen to Porto. Their previous biggest home defeat in Europe was 1-3, which Besiktas actually managed in this very campaign. And whilst they have lost 5-0 before in Europe, most recently to Arsenal a few years ago, to do it on their own ground is absolutely insane, especially when you consider that they hadn’t lost at home since September.

The Reds meanwhile, have even more goalscoring feats away from home to celebrate. Nobody can come close to the 16 goals they’ve scored away from Anfield in just four games, capping off the ten added against Maribor and Sevilla, and they’ve also scored more away goals than any team in the top five European leagues in all competitions. Absolute insanity.

Defensive Solidity?

Again, Liverpool looked solid defensively. That’s Karius’ 8th clean sheet in 16 games this season. In terms of individuals, it’s hard to look past VVD as the standout, with three tackles, three interceptions, five clearances and one vital block. But once again Firmino was outstanding with four tackles, Lovren played his part with four clearances, two interceptions and two tackles, and both Trent and Milner also made four tackles.

With Liverpool it really is all or nothing defensively, especially away from home, conceding nothing in six of their twenty away games, but conceding at least three in five of them.

Ox

Before the game, it was pointed out to me that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is Liverpool’s most experienced player in the Champions League, with 17 UCL starts and 13 sub appearances. After the game, it was pointed out to me that he has never made the quarter-finals. Surely that run will end in April.

Portuguese Predictor

The last two times Liverpool has tasted victory in Portugal the club has gone on to lift ‘Old Big Ears.’ With this emphatic performance, a sixth trophy looks a lot more realistic than it did 24 hours ago.